It's About Growing Up
by RappAddict
Summary: Mark meets Sophie moving into the apartment above the loft and impulsively asks her out, even with the presence of two children who were bound to her in some way. Will this be the start of something? Or will Sophie's past stand in the way?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay, this idea hit me a midnight about a week ago and I just started writing and this is what came out. If it sounds good, please review and let me know, if not I won't continue the story. 

"Da-nny boy!" Mark heard a woman's voice echo outside the loft. It was clear she had stopped herself from cursing, but why- he didn't know. In fact, now that he thought about it- why was there a new person in the building? Without heat most of the time, it was not the ideal place to live. Mark heard a thud and found it appropriate to ask for help while seeing who the hell was moving in here and why.

What he saw was a girl that couldn't be more than 20, with a toddler on one hip, a box on the other and a little girl behind her. Mark rushed over and took the box from under her arm and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much, uh…"

"Mark, I'm Mark." The blonde said waving his free hand.

"I'm Sophie." The brunette said.

"Hello Sophie, now where are you taking this?" Mark asked, his weak muscles causing his arms to struggle with the box.

"Oh, right. Sorry!" She treaded up the steps to the next floor. She struggled to get a key out of her pocket and then opened the door. Mark hastily let the box down and tried to make it look like his arms weren't screaming. Her blue-gray eyes shone with gratification and Mark felt a surge of boldness resonate through his body.

"So you're the unlucky one."

"Unlucky?" Sophie asked with a smirk, switching the toddler to the other hip.

"You're right above me and my roommates. One of who is both a guitar addict, and um…well he's addicted to something else too." Mark said, feeling like he wasn't in control of his actions.

"Aren't all men?" Sophie said with a playful roll of her eyes, placing the toddler on the floor and opening the box. She pulled out a toy truck and handed it to the boy.

"So who is this charming little guy?" Mark said squatting down to where the toddler was now contently sliding his truck up and down the floor. Feeling even more unlike himself since Mark was usually terrible with children.

"This is Nolan." She said pushing the boy's blonde hair out of his face. "And this is Shelby." Sophie said getting up and wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulders.

"Hello Shelby, I'm Mark." Mark extended his hand, and the girl shook it warily.

"Um, I would offer you coffee or tea but I don't really have any right now." Sophie said with a sympathetic smile.

Mark laughed and said, "that's fine, actually me and my roommates are going out for dinner and we'd be more than happy to have a few extra guests if you wanna tag along."

Sophie looked at Nolan and Shelby.

"They can come too! We aren't dangerous or anything. The worst any of us could do is teach them a few new words…then again…" Mark thought about the Bohemians vocabulary and hesitated introducing young ears to that.

"They've heard them all, it's just we're really new to the city and I don't want to get lost or anything. And I'm kind of short on cash-"

"Oh, well I know the city like the back of my hand. I won't let you get lost."

Sophie bit her lip and then closed her eyes. "I don't have much money."

"Don't worry about it, you'll be my guest."

Sophie's eyes shifted from Nolan, to Shelby and then settled on Mark. "Okay, yeah. We'll go. What time?"

"About an hour." Mark said, wondering what was possessing him.

"Alright, we'll be ready."

"See ya." Mark smiled and walked back upstairs. Shutting the door, the realization of what he had just done hit Mark. He sank to the floor, suddenly feeling nervous.

"Hey Mark…something wrong?" Roger asked walking out of his room.

Mark simply starred straight ahead of him.

"Mark?" Roger nudged him with the tip of his boot.

"I just invited a girl with two kids to dinner."

"Like a date?"

"I…don't know."

"Go Marky!" Roger whooped.

The commotion drawing Mimi into the room, brought the question, "What's up?"

"Mark's got a date!"

"Go Mark!" Mimi hollered.

"It's not like I've never gotten a date guys!" Mark said a little peeved.

"Yeah, just not in the last year." Mimi muttered, barely audible.

"I don't know what came over me…it was like Roger took over my body."

"Huh?" Roger asked confused.

"She was beautiful…and I just talked to her, I didn't stammer or blush…I just talked. And I invited her to dinner. I didn't say anything stupid, I just asked her. And she said yes."

"I knew I would rub off on you some day!" Roger said beaming. "I'm so proud!" Roger mocked wiping away tears. "I just need a moment." He said holding one hand and wiping his imaginary tears with the other.

Mimi hit his shoulder while holding back a smile and they turned their attention back to Mark who was still staring straight ahead into nothing, in a daze.

"Mark," Mimi said sitting down next to the paler than usual blonde "people go out on dates all the time."

"People who know what to say, people like Roger and Collins and Maureen and you." Mark said with an anxious edge.

"Well you knew what to say a few minutes ago." Mimi reminded him.

"Nope, it wasn't me." Mark said resolved.

"What?" Roger asked.

"Roger possessed over my body for a few minutes. He invaded and made it so that I asked her out."

"Um, I'm pretty sure I was right here." Roger said pointing to the floor beneath his feet.

"No, you inhabited my body." Mark said confidently.

Roger looked at his girlfriend and twirled his finger around his ear, mouthing the word 'crazy'.

Mimi held back a laugh a laid a friendly hand on Mark's shoulder.

"You'll do fine Mark." She assured.

"Did you say she had kids?" Roger asked, pulling a rare short-term memory from the recesses of his mind.

Mark looked up at his best friend with scared blue eyes and nodded. "Two."

"Are you sure that their hers? Maybe she's babysitting or something." Mimi defended her fellow woman.

Mark nodded sheepishly, knowing he had assumed too soon. Somewhat as the saying goes, making an ass out of himself.

"So when are you picking her up?"

"An hour."

"How long a walk is it to her place?"

Mark smiled and said, "about 3 seconds."

Mimi and Roger questioned him with their eyes.

"She lives upstairs. That's how I met her, she just moved in."

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go give her a proper greeting." Mimi said excitedly.

Mark held out his hands defensively as Mimi tried to pull him up.

"No, I don't want to risk sounding stupid sooner than I have to."

"Oh Mark! You won't, Roger and I will do all the talking."

"Aw Mimi, do I have to go?" Roger whined, sounding much more like a five-year old version of himself than the 24 year old that stood there.

Mimi shot him a glare, and he complied. Mark, resolved on staying in the loft didn't budge however.

"Okay Mark, I hat to do this. But if I'm going-you're going." Roger said hoisting his roommate over his shoulder easily.

"Roger! What the hell!? Put me down now!" The smaller man demanded.

Roger and Mimi walked out of the loft and as soon as the door closed Roger let Mark down, immediately guarding the door. The film maker sighed defeated, and led the way upstairs.


	2. Chapter 2

Sophie closed the door, catching one last glimpse at the blonde who had helped her upstairs- the blonde that she was going out with later. Of course, after he found out that Nolan was her son, that'd be the end of that. It always was.

"Mommy?" She heard her son ask from the ground.

"Yes sweetie?" She said scooping the child up in her arms, and brushing the blonde hair away from his face, revealing his round, green eyes.

"Who that?"

"Who was who?"

"Man."

"Oh, you mean the man who helped us?" Nolan nodded. "His name was Mark, he's taking us out to dinner in a little bit." The boy's eyes lit up at the mention of an outing and he smiled as widely as he could.

"So we're really going?" Shelby asked eagerly.

"I agreed, didn't I?" Sophie asked rhetorically.

Shelby nodded and rushed over and hugged her sister.

"You better go get ready!" Sophie said with one arm around her sister.

Shelby rushed off to the bathroom and started making sure her hair was decent and her clothes weren't too wrinkled.

Sophie watched as her 11-year old sister tried different hairstyles on her straight, dark brown hair- a gleam in her bright blue eyes. She turned her attention to her 3-year old son every so often, making sure he wasn't making too big a mess.

A knock sounded at the door and Sophie picked up her son, not trusting him alone, and walked to the door. Opening it she found the friendly face that had helped her earlier, followed by two unfamiliar faces.

"Hi Mark." She said balancing Nolan more comfortably on her right hip.

"Um…hi Sophie. These are my roommates, they uh, they wanted to meet you. Apparently they couldn't wait an hour." He said throwing a dirty glance at them over his shoulder.

Sophie smiled and laughed a bit. "Well, I'm pleased to meet you. I'm Sophie and this is Nolan." Sophie introduced herself, letting her southern accent seep out a bit.

"I'm Mimi." The petite girl said with a nice smile. She jabbed the blonde beside her in the rib and he coughed before saying, "Roger" with a wave.

"So his name is Nolan?" Mimi asked peering at the toddler. "Are you baby-sitting?" She asked, obviously trying to find out if the child was hers but trying to be polite in finding out.

"Um, no. Nolan's my son." Sophie said easily.

Mimi bent down so she was facing the boy and smiled warmly.

"Hey there, I'm Mimi."

Nolan stared at the lady in front of his face and giggled before hiding his face in his mother's shoulder.

"He's adorable!" Mimi gushed.

"Yep, and doesn't he know it." Sophie said, setting the boy down.

"Okay, so you've met her, we can go now." Mark said grabbing Mimi's arm and heading for the door.

"Mark!" Mimi resisted.

"We'll see you in about an hour!" Mark called as he pulled Mimi out of the door, Roger following closely behind.

Sophie closed the door, catching one last glimpse of Mark pulling his friend downstairs. She smiled and then turned her attention to the box at her feet. She tore the sides off and unloaded 4 blankets, 2 sleeping bags and cots, and a few small toys. The 23 year old sighed a heavy sigh, and sat down next to her smiling son.

Her son and sister never ceased to amaze her. They took joy in the smallest things and seemed to be eternal optimists. Of course, after Shelby turned 13 the world would be cruel and that optimism would evaporate like a vapor, but until then she and Nolan would smile through the hot summers, and numbingly cold winters of New York, and then through the start of school. Sophie rested her head on the frame of a couch that sat in the middle of the main room and closed her eyes, waiting her turn for the bathroom.

After half an hour of primping, Shelby emerged from the bathroom looking no different than when she entered.

"You look beautiful Shel." Sophie said kissing her head. "Could you watch Nolan for a minute?"

"Sure." Shelby skipped over to her nephew and watched over him lovingly.

Sophie ducked into the bathroom and splashed some water on her face. She looked up to see someone she hardly knew- someone that had abandoned her dreams of going to college and becoming a renowned novelist for a family; a family that she loved more than life itself, a family that had up until a few months ago existed. Now all she had was the shell of the family, a shell that she had to fill with love and care to make up for the loss they had experienced.

Sophia Amelia Richardson was born in Wilkesboro, North Carolina to a large family that owned a ranch in the country. With an older brother and sister, Sophie had to fight for what she wanted and she learned anything worth having was worth fighting for fairly young. She decided that she wanted to be a novelist in junior high school, despite the comments from people all around her saying how few actually write a top-seller and live off of what they earn from books. Sophie decided that she was going to be one of those few and she worked hard on writing and grammar, getting better with every passing day. The one person who did support her with her dream was her friend Ethan. They had known each other since birth and grew inseparable during Elementary school. In Junior High, they began to date and knew they would eventually end up together. In High School, Ethan asked her to marry him during Graduation and she accepted without a second of hesitation. Coming from a rich family, Ethan had plenty to support her with and had gotten a job with a construction company overseeing dozens of men. In two months, she was Sophia Amelia Sander. In four months, she was pregnant. And with the arrival of her first son and the start of her family, her dream of going to college and becoming a novelist flew out the window. Not that she minded terribly, she loved being a wife and mother and her first son Caleb was her whole world. Then Nolan entered the world almost a year later and her heart could have exploded with love.

With everything that was happening, Sophie felt like nothing could take her down from the cloud she was on. Then, August 21st, 1991 came and she felt differently. While on vacation in the mountains, a teenager under the influence slammed into her parent's car killing them both instantly. Thankfully, Shelby and Sasha had escaped the wreck, while orphaned, with only a few bumps and bruises.

First came the mourning period, but seeing as there was the issue of where Shelby and Sasha would end up, that was significantly shortened. Sophie's older sister Sonya volunteered to take Sasha, seeing as she already had three kids around his age (he was three years old) and adding another to the bunch wouldn't be too much trouble.

Sophie's older brother, Shiloh, was on the road to becoming a doctor and obviously could not care for a child with his crazy schedule.

Once Ethan, who previously thought that Sonya was taking both Sasha and Shelby, heard that Shelby was without a home he took her in without even consulting the rest of the family. He knew that Sophie loved Shelby and was probably just apprehensive about asking him to take in her sister. But she forgot that Shelby was his sister as well, and that Ethan had always been part of the family and loved Shelby just as much as his own younger sister. So Shelby joined their family and while the death of her parents at such a young age was unfortunate and untimely, Sophie felt her life was the best it had ever been.

Until another, more tragic event hit her. February 4th, 1993, while driving Caleb home from preschool, Ethan hit a patch of black ice and slid off of the road. Both Ethan and Caleb died on the way to the hospital, leaving Sophie with two children, no job, no higher education and a feeling of no hope. Sonya offered to take Shelby, but Sophie knew that her family had enough mouths to feed and Shelby had become more like a daughter to her with every passing day. Having no marketable skills, Ethan's parents gave her $10,000 to live on, and while she thanked them profusely for their generous gift- she knew that things would be extremely tight. So she moved her small family out of their spacious, 4-bedroom house on the outskirts of the city to a miniscule, 1-bedroom apartment in a run-down industrial complex.

And here she stood, in front of a mirror waiting for a stranger to come and pick her and her children up and take them to dinner. She knew it was dangerous to accept offers from strangers, but he seemed so nice and innocent. Maybe he was…maybe fate had intervened and made her agree against all reason. Maybe this was the start of something. But was she even ready for 'something'? Ethan had just died four months ago…it didn't even seem real yet. What would he think of this? Of course, they had talked about what to do had something happened to either of them. They both agreed that the other should date, that children need both a mother and father. So wasn't she obligated to find someone? Didn't Nolan need a father figure in his life? Even if she wasn't ready to quite let go of Ethan yet, she had to find someone, if not for herself for Nolan.


	3. Chapter 3

"Wow Mark, I'm impressed." Mimi commented as Mark closed the loft door and blocked the door with his body to prevent any more humiliation presently.

"So I've heard." He muttered.

"No, I mean yeah- I'm impressed that you asked someone out, but this someone was especially pretty and she has a son. Impressive."

"Didn't you say there were two kids?" Roger asked, throwing himself on the couch lazily.

Mark nodded, noting that the girl had not been present a minute ago.

"How old did she look?" Mimi inquired.

"I don't know, 10 or so?" Mark guessed.

"There's no way that can be her kid. She couldn't be older than 20!" Mimi protested.

Mark gave a sigh of relief and rubbed his temples, trying to put the impending date out of his mind at least for the moment. However, no matter how hard he tried to focus his mind on something-anything else, all he saw was Sophie smiling at him. Her brown hair cascading perfectly around her delicate shoulders, and the light hitting her eyes making them seem bluer than imaginable. It almost seemed like Handel's Messiah chorus should be playing whenever she entered a room. Then when she smiled- the mood of the whole room could change. How genuine, and real her smile had been. The way she always had something to say, and no matter how hard she had tried to hide it- her accent had betrayed her just as Mark's knees betrayed him.

He had never been outside of the north, and though he had seen Steel Magnolias and other movies that had southern characters in them, he had never actually heard someone speak with that accent. He thought they were just made for movies and that no one could actually talk that way. Then Sophie came along. Followed by her son and another girl…who was yet to be identified. The boy seemed nice enough, or at least well behaved for a three year old. How were three year olds supposed to act anyhow?

"Mark? Mark!"

Mark snapped out of his train of thought to see Mimi starring amusingly at him.

"What?" He asked averting her gaze.

"You were thinking about her." Mimi stated.

"Who?" He played dumb, hoping to seem genuine.

"Don't 'who' me mister, Sophie!"

"So what?" He shrugged.

"Marky's got a girlfriend!" Mimi said in a sing-songy kind of way.

"Shut up!" Mark said, doing nothing to mask the smile that had spread across his face.

"So what are you wearing tonight?" Mimi changed subjects, marching into his room.

"I don't know, this?" Mark said following her into his room.

"Oh- and why don't you wear some rainbow suspenders and a top hat!" Mimi scoffed as she evaluated his wardrobe.

She flipped through his shirts and took some out, holding them up to Mark before throwing them onto the bed. She picked out one of his dress shirts and Mark gave her a confused look.

"Meems, this is a casual thing. We're going to the Life." He reminded her.

Mimi bit her lip for a moment before discarding the shirt into the pile on Mark's bed. A moment later she squealed and pulled out an old shirt that Mark hadn't worn in years. The reason why he bought it eluded him even now as Mimi held it up to his chest. The shirt did match his eyes, with its light blue color and dark blue writing. He looked down to see what the writing said to find, "Censor this!" scrawled across the front.

"Um, are you sure about this shirt?"

"Yes, Mark it totally accentuates your eyes and it'll fit great."

"It'll fit tight." He said eyeing the shirt.

"Exactly, isn't that what I said?"

Mark rolled his eyes and threw off his plaid shirt, then put on the chosen shirt.

Mimi just smiled and then turned back to the closet in search for some pants.

An hour later, Mark had on a fairly new pair of blue jeans with his blue shirt, his hair was perfect, his teeth were brushed, his face was washed, and Mimi was beaming with pride at her work.

"Okay, can we go now?" Roger whined.

Mimi smiled and headed for the door.

They started the ascent to Sophie's apartment, Mimi leading the way, Roger heading up the back and Mark- like a convicted criminal trudged up the stairs in the middle.

"Dude, this is a date not a death sentence," Roger said, catching a glimpse of Mark's face.

Mark just mounted the stairs and tried to regulate his breathing.

Mimi giggled as she reached the door and knocked lightly.

"Here goes nothing." Mark mumbled as the night started.


	4. Chapter 4

Sophie looked to the door as a knock echoed through the apartment. She smoothed her blouse and picked up Nolan's bag, checking to make sure everything (extra clothes in case of an accident, juice, toy car in case of need of a distraction, etc) was in it. She called to Shelby and then anxiously opened the door.

"One second," she said to the bohemians as she balanced Nolan on one hip and the bag on the other.

Mark smiled at the toddler who looked up at him questioningly, as if knowing he was the one who had asked his mother on this outing. Mark opened his mouth to say a few defensive words regarding his character, but then remembered that Nolan was 3 and that he might be acting just a bit paranoid…

"Alright, where are we going?" Sophie asked as she ushered Shelby out of the door and started walking beside Mark.

"The Life Café." Mark said, his voice surprisingly unfaltering and clear.

"Cool, how far is it?" She asked readjusting the child on her hip.

"A few blocks." Roger answered.

Mark threw a sideways glance at Sophie as the group trounced down the stairs and without a thought, reached out and took the bag from her shoulder.

Sophie looked up, surprised at first but then she smiled and whispered a 'thanks'. Mark felt his cheeks burn a bit and smiled as he hid his face.

"Well, here it is," Roger said as the entourage arrived at the Life Café.

"It's nice." Sophie said with a genuine smile. "Isn't it Shel?" She prompted her sister.

Shelby looked at the establishment and nodded silently.

Mark opened the door for his friends, trying to be as chivalrous as humanly possible.

"No, no, no", Raoul rushed up to the group.

"Why not this time Ray?" Roger asked half-heartedly.

Raoul narrowed his eyes at the rocker, and scanned the rest of the group.

Just as he was about to list reasons why the Bohemians couldn't stay, the group's usual waiter, Toni, strode up and welcomed them.

"Hey Rogy! Mimi, lookin' good! What's up Mark? Joanne and Maureen are at your usual table." Toni turned and grabbed the menus in Raoul's hand and smiled as he escorted the group. Raoul scowled at the group, but then saw that his efforts were futile and gave up.

"Oh, I didn't see you before sweetheart!" Toni said as Sophie sat down next to Mark, Nolan in her lap.

"I'm Sophie." She said with a warm smile.

"Who's this little guy?" Toni said looking at Nolan.

"This is Nolan." She introduced her son as he buried his face into her chest.

"Well, hello Nolan." Toni giggled and handed her a menu. "You guys want your usual?" He asked the bohemians.

The group nodded affirmation and Sophie turned her attention to the menu.

"Who're you?" Maureen said boisterously.

Sophie's head jerked up at the new voice to see a head of wild, curly brown hair and a Cheshire-cat like grin looking in her direction.

"Oh, I'm Sophie." She said politely.

"Mark brought her." Roger said nudging Mark.

"Woo-hoo Marky!" Maureen hollered.

Mark turned a deep shade of crimson and hid his face in his hands. Sophie looked at him, confused at why this was a big deal and thinking the worst. Was Mark an ex-con, or maybe he had some deep dark evil secret that only these few knew about?

"Mark's usually pretty shy" Mimi whispered an explanation.

Sophie sighed, happy to extinguish her worries and adjusted Nolan so that both he and she were comfortable.

"Is that your son?" Maureen asked boldly and, as always, a bit loudly.

"Yep" Sophie said swiping a strand of blonde hair away from Nolan's face.

"Your daughter?" Maureen nodded to Shelby who was still taking in the ambience of the Life Café.

"Oh no, this is my sister, Shelby. And this guy's name is Nolan." Sophie introduced the children.

Maureen pursed her lips. "How do you know Mark?"

"What's with the third degree Mo?" Mimi asked, trying not to scare away Mark's date.

Sophie smiled easily and answered, "I moved in upstairs from where Mark lives."

"Oh." Maureen said, seemingly satisfied.

Sophie looked down at the menu, trying to decide what to order for Nolan and Shelby.

"What can I get for ya sweetie?" Toni asked, order pad in hand.

"Um, well I guess I'll have the miso soup and…" She looked to make sure Shelby wasn't listening and in a whisper said, "two tofu dogs and two orders of fries."

"To drink?"

"Water please."

"Alright sweetie, it'll be out shortly. You guys orders too!" Toni said to the group.

"Sophie?" Shelby tugged her sister's sleeve.

Sophie's head turned and she raised her eyebrows in question.

"What are we eating?"

"I'm going to eat some soup, and you and Nolan are getting hot-dogs."

"Hot-dogs!?" The 11-year old said excitedly.

"Yep, and fries!"

"Alright!"

Mark leaned in and whispered, "you know tofu is kinda different than meat right?"

"Yeah", she whispered back, "but they don't" she motioned to the children.

Mark smiled and mouthed, "right".

The food arrived shortly and Shelby and Nolan didn't notice any difference in the taste of the food and fries are fries wherever so the two sat happily munching while the adults chatted. Conversation came easy for Sophie and the group talked for hours, only cut short by Maureen mooing and Collins shouting, "anarchy is supreme" after one too many beers.

"I think I should get going." Sophie said to Mark as Nolan nuzzled against his mother's shoulder. "Noel's getting sleepy and Shelby should get to bed too."

"Oh, okay well, I'll walk you home."

"Oh you don't have to!"

"I know." Mark smiled. "I want to." He took Nolan from her lap, which the toddler jerked awake to but then quickly fell back asleep in a matter of minutes. The group said their goodbyes to the rest of the Bohemians and received a chorus of moos and drunken shouts in return.

Once outside, Sophie glanced at her son who was comfortably asleep in Mark's arms and couldn't help but smile. Despite the fact that she wasn't ready for another relationship quite yet, Mark was a wonderful guy. He was chivalrous, which was rare in today's world, and he was cute and Sophie could tell by the way he talked to his friends and the way he interacted with them that he stuck with his friends through everything. Roger seemed to know what Mark was going to say before he said it, as well as Collins and Maureen. Joanne and Mark seemed to share a smile over a random dance comment and even Mimi understood what he meant when all he did was stutter.

"Did you have an alright time tonight?" Mark asked quietly.

"I had a wonderful time tonight."

"Hope you didn't mind that sh-silliness near the end." Mark watched his language.

"Not at all. I actually found it quite entertaining." Sophie said with a giggle.

"Good." Mark said with a grin.

They arrived at Sophie's door and Mark gingerly handed Nolan to his mother.

"I'm glad you had a good time tonight. So...um, maybe I could take you out alone sometime?" Mark asked shuffling his feet.

"Um…yeah…maybe?" Sophie said, completely caught off guard and not wanting to hurt Mark's feelings.

"Unless you don't want to?" Mark asked, sensing her hesitation.

"No, Mark, it's not that I don't want to. Well, it sorta is…it's just…I was married."

"Oh, well I understand. Divorce is never easy."

"I didn't get divorced." Sophie said.

Mark furrowed his brow and looked to her for further explanation.

"See Nolan has…had an older brother and four months ago my husband, Ethan, was picking Caleb up from preschool and he got in an accident." Sophie steeled herself and held back tears. "They both died on the way to the hospital."

"Oh, god. Wow, I'm sorry." Mark stuttered.

"So am I. So, I'm just not ready for another relationship."

"Oh, I completely understand. If there's anything you need, a babysitter or money or if you need someone to talk to-"

"No offense Mark, but I don't really think you know what I'm going through." She said sincerely.

"Oh, I know I don't. But Roger does. His girlfriend actually killed herself. So while his situation isn't identical he might understand where you're coming from."

"Oh, well thanks. Maybe I'll do that. Thanks for a nice night Mark, and maybe in a few months…" She alluded.

"Okay, well then I'll wait."

Sophie smiled. "Good night Mark."

"G'night." And she slipped into her apartment leaving Mark speechless for many different reasons, outside her door.


	5. Chapter 5

Now he knew, which meant that they all knew. Sophie lay Nolan down in his cot and Shelby went to hers sleepily, leaving Sophie alone with her thoughts.

He was such a nice guy._ I bet Ethan would have liked him_, she thought. _I bet he would have liked them all. _A tear escaped her eye and rolled slowly down her cheek.

"Sophie?" A sleepy voice called out.

Sophie quickly brushed the tear away and turned to see her little sister standing in front of her.

"Are you thinking about Ethan?"

"No, why?" Sophie said with a fake smile.

"Cause the only time you ever cry is when you're thinking about Ethan."

Sophie nodded and motioned to the seat next to her. Shelby sat down and laid her head on Sophie's shoulder as Sophie draped an arm across her sister's shoulders.

"I just miss him. That's all." Sophie tried to soother the 11-year old.

"I do too…I miss him a lot. And I miss Caleb. And Mom. And Dad." Shelby sniffled.

"Me too." Sophie's voice cracked.

Soon enough both girls were sobbing, letting emotions flow freely from their eyes. Shelby fell asleep during their cry-fest and quickly after, Sophie followed.

"Sophie?" Knock! Knock!

Sophie awoke to a sleeping eleven year old on her lap and an insistent knocking at her door. She gingerly moved her sister off of her and tip-toed to the door, opening it slowly to avoid noise. She opened it a crack and looked out to see Mark, bright-eyed and cheery-faced.

"M-Mark?" She asked groggily.

"Oh! I'm sorry! Did I wake you up?"

"Yeah, but it's fine. What time is it anyway?"

"Around eight." He said with a smile.

"Hm, Saturday right?"

"Mhm hmm." He nodded.

"Okay, so what's up?"

"Well, I was just gonna invite you guys up for some breakfast since you probably don't have any food quite yet. Do you?" He looked hopeful.

"Oh, no we don't. That's really nice. Um, I'll get the kids up and we'll be down in a minute, ok?"

"Ok." Mark gave a small wave as he descended the stairs.

Sophie closed the door and let herself slide down the wall until she was on the floor. She buried her face into her hands, trying to muster the strength to face the day-what she now did almost every morning since the accident.

"Mommmy!" A scream rang through the house.

Sophie shot out of widow mode and straight into mother mode as she rushed into the only bedroom and gathered her crying son into her arms.

"Bad dream sweetie?" She cooed the toddler.

Nolan nodded, one thumb in his mouth and crocodile tears running down his cheeks.

"Was it about Daddy again?" She asked gently sitting down on the cot, Nolan on her lap.

The two year old sat motionless, staring into space for a moment.

"Nolan?" Sophie pushed his blonde hair out of his face.

"Caleb."

"Oh, the dream was about Caleb?"

A single tear rolled down his cheek and he buried his face into his mother's chest. Sophie wrapped her arms around her son, wishing she could take his pain from him. No three-year old deserved to go through the things he had been through.

"Nolan, baby, it's alright, it's gonna be alright honey." She said more to herself than her son. "You know what though Nolan?" Sophie made herself look happy, knowing distraction worked wonders with toddlers.

Nolan's soft green eyes looked up at her, eyes that seemed all-knowing, eyes that could pierce through the hardest of hearts.

"Remember Mark?"

Nolan's eyes brightened and he nodded affirmatively slowly.

"Well", Sophie said quietly, as if letting her son in on a big secret. Her son leaned in closer, eyes widening with every word.

"If you get dressed, we can go downstairs and eat breakfast with them." She exaggerated every word.

Nolan jumped out of his mother's lap and went to his box full of clothes, smile on his face. Sophie went to the living room, knowing that she would be redressing Nolan before they left. Seeing her little sister still sleeping, Sophie sat down carefully on the couch and stroked her sister's dark hair, gently shaking her with her other hand. Blue eyes opened sleepily.

"Morning already?" Shelby asked,

"Yep, hey get dressed. We're going downstairs for breakfast!" Sophie said leaving the room to check on her little boy's progress. She heard a thud and walked into the bedroom to see Nolan trying to pull his head through a sleeve, and his jeans on backwards. Sophie covered her mouth with her hand, hiding a smile.

"Here buddy, let me help." She leaned down.

"No!" Nolan said defiantly. "I do it." After squirming for another minute, and Sophie softly tugging his shirt in the right direction, he had his shirt on. He looked up proudly at his mother, a grin gracing his face.

"I did it!" He beamed.

"What a big boy!" She gathered her son into a hug. "Now who taught you how to dress yourself?" She asked, genuinely wondering how he had dressed himself even half-sufficiently.

"Caleb teached me." Nolan said.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: So, after a loooong time, here's Chappie 7. Review please? Holds Nolan up For the children?

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"So when are they coming?" Mimi asked Mark for the thousandth time that morning.

"When they're ready I guess." The filmmaker said fidgeting with his scarf. As soon as the words escaped his lips, they were answered with a knock. Mark smiled and almost skipped to the door.

"Hey, Sophie, Nolan, Shelby!" Mark said happily.

"Hey Mark." Sophie smiled, holding Nolan in her arms.

Roger wandered out of his bedroom in only his boxers, to see what all the noise was about and he was greeted by a blushing Sophie, and a giggling Shelby and Mimi. His tan face soon turned a shade of crimson before he ran back to his room.

"Um, excuse him." Mark said laughing a bit nervously.

"It's fine." Sophie said setting Nolan down. After being touched by his display of independence and knowing that Caleb had helped him reach the new level, Sophie hadn't the heart to tell her son that his pants were on backwards so she had left them the way they were; making it a little difficult to walk for the toddler but he managed.

"Um, I think Nolan's pants are on-"  
"Yeah, they're on backwards. Nolan dressed himself this morning." She said the last part loudly enough for her son to hear and he looked up at his mother, pride in his smile.

"He did?" Mimi said walking over to the boy, and squatting down to his level. "What a big boy!" She cooed.

Nolan grinned and shyly gripped onto his mother's leg.

"Do you guys have any food?" Shelby asked, gripping her growling stomach.

"Oh! Yeah!" Mark said, remembering the real reason they were here. He poured four cups of coffee and handed one to Sophie, one to Mimi, and set the two remaining aside for himself and the previously embarrassed rocker. Opening the fridge, he got out the milk and orange juice he had bought that morning at the grocery.

"Milk or OJ?" Mark asked the 11-year-old, grabbing a plastic cup from the cupboard.

"Milk please." Shelby said, an angelic smile lighting up her face.

"Here ya go." Mark said handing her the cup.

"Thank you sir." She automatically responded, her southern drawl shining through every word.

Mark smiled, loving how southern people talked. He got out the eggs he had bought and popped some bread into the ancient toaster.

"How do you guys like your eggs?" He asked the group.

"Noel likes scrambled, and Shel likes sunny-side up." Sophie said, searching the cupboards for plates, and finding some paper plates in one.

"Where do you guys eat?" She asked, observing that the loft didn't exactly have a kitchen table…or a real kitchen for that matter.

Mimi strutted over to the metal table. "Here." She said; clearing it of various magazines and half-eaten sandwiches Roger had left over the past month.

"Oh, alright." Sophie said with a cheery smile, though she thought that the table looked more like a surgical table than one that people would eat at. She set out 5 plates, and then as Roger sauntered out she set out a sixth.

"What's goin' on?" He asked, now clad in his plaid pants and a wife-beater.

"Mark decided to ask Sophie and the kids down for breakfast." Mimi said, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend and standing on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.

"How uncharac-," Roger's statement was interrupted by his girlfriend jabbing him in the ribs with her elbow.

"Ow!" He rubbed his sore side. Mimi glared at him. "I mean, sweet…of him." He said still rubbing his side.

"Yes, it is sweet." Mimi said sternly.

Sophie giggled, noticing all of the things not said, and searched the drawers for silverware. Finding a package of plastic silverware, she set out 6 forks by the plates. Mark shuffled over to the table, frying pan full of scrambled eggs in hand, and divided up the eggs over three plates.

"Do you want scrambled?" He asked Sophie.

"Oh! No, it's fine. I'll just have toast." She said, taking the toast out of the toaster and putting in some more.

Roger grabbed a piece of toast and stuffed it in his mouth. Mimi sighed.

"Yeah, go ahead Rog, don't mind our guests!" She said sarcastically.

"Okay." He said oblivious, his mouth full.

"Oh, it's fine Mimi. We're the ones intruding, please don't mind us!" Sophie pleaded.

"We invited you, so you're not intruding. And Roger was raised by wolves, so just excuse him." Mimi said flicking the side of Roger's head.

"Hey!" He said, running his fingers through his golden locks. "Watch the hair!"

"Rog, you're such a girl." Mark said, slipping one sunny-side egg onto Shelby's plate, one onto his and one onto Sophie's.

"Oh, that's alright Mark, I'm fine with just toast."

"And my mother always said breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

"Along with 'Marky-poo come back home, we miss you sweetie'." Roger chided.

Mark threw him an evil look, but as he set his gaze upon Sophie, his face softened. "I hardly think toast is a healthy meal." Mark said, setting the frying pan on the stove and turning off the burner.

Sophie smirked, but said nothing more. She took a few bites of her egg, and watched as her son took the next step towards independence- trying to feed himself. Of course, more was ending up on his clothes than in his mouth.

"So, how old is he?" Mark asked in between bites.

"He just turned three a few days ago." Sophie said pushing Nolan's long blonde hair out of his eyes.

"It was just his birthday?" Mimi asked.

"Yeah, we actually celebrated a little early with his grandparents down in North Carolina."

"Is that where you're from? North Carolina?" Mimi asked, curiosity beaming from her vibrant brown eyes.

"Yeah, Wilkesboro. You've probably never heard of it, it's near the mountains."

"The mountains? Wow, I bet it's beautiful up there!" Mimi swooned.

"It was pretty nice; I got to go skiing every weekend." Sophie said, a bright smile on her face. "I'm only sad that these two can't experience the same." She said, her smile becoming a thoughtful frown as she placed an arm around Shelby's shoulders.

"Well maybe we could go down sometime, meet your parents and everything?" Mark suggested.

"Um, I don't think that's gonna happen…my folks died about two years ago." Sophie said, looking at her lap. "That's why Shelby is with me. My younger brother, Sasha, lives with my older sister, Sonya back in Wilkesboro."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Sophie, I…I didn't know." Mark said, panic seizing his face.

"Yeah…it's not your fault, it just doesn't usually come up in conversation." Sophie said, trying to mask her emotions with a sad smile.

Mimi laid a hand on the widow's shoulder and flashed an understanding smile. "Losing parents sucks. When my dad died I cried for months."

"How old were you?" Shelby asked.

"I was seven."

"I was nine. Sasha was three." The eleven-year old stated boldly. "Same age as Nolan. Except Nolan was two when Ethan died."

"Who's Ethan?" Roger joined the conversation.

Mark placed his head in his hands, wishing his oh so sensitive friend would catch a clue.

"Ethan was my husband. He died four months ago, along with my other son, Caleb." Sophie said, each word taking more courage and strength than the last.

"I'm really sorry." Roger said, eyes full of sincerity and voice full of concern. "I lost a girlfriend a few years ago…if you wanna talk or something, I'm here. Just so you know."

"Thank you Roger." The widow swiped at a tear that had escaped her eye. "Do you guys know of any daycares around here, by the way?"

"For Nolan?" Mimi asked.

"Yeah, I found a job as a secretary at a school down the street, and Shelby will be in Middle School this year, and Noel will be starting pre-school next year. But this year, he's too young. So unfortunately, he'll be in daycare this year." She lovingly ruffled his hair, causing him to smile up at her.

It killed Sophie that she had to put her little boy in someone else's hands five days a week. But she knew that to make this- her new family- work, she'd have to work enough to pay the bills and afford food.

"Well, me and Roger sit around all day, why don't you let us take care of the tyke?"

"What?" Sophie asked, surprised by Mimi's offer.

"Yeah, Roger works a few nights at a bar, and I work at a club a few nights but during the day we're completely free."

"When do yall sleep?"

Mimi's lips curved into a smile, Mark got a dreamy look on his face and Roger smirked.

"Yall?" Roger asked.

"Sorry, you guys. I meant, 'you guys'." She apologized.

"I thought they just said 'yall' in the movies?"

"Um, no. They uh, we…use it in real life." Sophie said nervously.

"It's not like we work all night and we go to bed kinda early those nights anyway." Roger explained.

"C'mon Soph, it'll save you money, it'll give me and Rog something to do during the day and it's better than leaving him with complete strangers." Mimi reasoned.

"Well…you're right. So how much should I pay you guys?"

"Nothing! Sweetie, it'll be a pleasure to have something to do during the day instead of listening to this one," she pointed to Roger, "play Musetta's Waltz all day; and he seems well behaved."

"Well…okay, but I'll find a way to make it up to you guys! I promise! And if he is any trouble, and I mean any trouble at all- you can call me at work."

"Yay!" Mimi squeeled and clapped her hands. "When does your work start?"

"Second week of August I have to go in and start getting ready for the new school year, but Shelby's going to watch him for the two weeks until she starts." Shelby smiled politely.

"Well they can both come down here and we can keep each other company." Mimi suggested.

"Can we Sophie?" Blue eyes looked up to her, pleading.

"Of course, but if they get too annoying Mimi, just send them upstairs." Sophie said looking to Shelby.

"We won't be any trouble we will Noel?" Shelby asked, picking Nolan up. The child squirmed, trying to get out of his aunt's grip.

"Sel-by, let go!" The three-year old whined.

Shelby rolled her eyes and put Nolan back in his seat.

"Tank you." He said indignantly.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: So, I'm trying to think up new ideas for this story so if you guys have any suggestions- they would be much appreciated and thoroughly considered. Okay, so enjoy and please please please R&R. For the children? Hold up a pouting Nolan

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Chapter 7 

Two weeks flew by, and before she knew it Sophie was standing at her door, work clothes on, saying good-bye to her son and sister.

"Now, don't annoy Mimi or Roger too much, and call me if anything- and I mean anything happens." Sophie smoothed her skirt and swiped Nolan's hair out of his eyes. "I'm gonna miss you two." She said, holding back tears.

"It'll only be for a few hours Soph!" Shelby said, smiling at her sister's separation anxiety.

Sophie took a deep breath. "Okay, you're right. Only a few hours." She knelt to the ground and gathered her son in her arms. "I love you sweetie, and I'll be home so fast you won't even notice I'm gone!" She pulled back and kissing Nolan and Shelby goodbye, left for her new job.

About three minutes after Sophie had left, Shelby and Nolan quietly creeped downstairs to see what the boho's were up to today.

"Sel-by?" Nolan said at full volume as the couple crept down the stairs.

"Shh!" Shelby hushed him.

"Sel-by?" He whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Why we hafta be ki-et?"

"Because, we don't know if Mimi and Roger are up yet." She explained.

"Oh. Why we going then?"

"Do you really wanna stay up there and be bored?"

"No." The three-year old said.

"I didn't think so. We're gonna go see if Mimi and Roger are up, and if they are we can play with them and stuff."

"But what if they not?" Nolan reasoned, quite a feat for a three-year old.

"Then…we'll go upstairs and do something."

"Do what?"

"Nolan, I don't know yet. Let's just see if they're up okay?" The brunette looked at the blonde.

"Kay." He said happily, tagging along behind his aunt as she approached the door.

Shelby looked nervously around at first, wondering if there were any other occupants she might make mad by knocking. But she hadn't seen any for the time they'd been here, so she decided not. She raised her fist and knocked lightly on the door, wincing as the noise echoed through the empty halls.

Mark swung the door open, fully dressed and sipping coffee.

"Hey Shelby, hey Nolan." He said, standing back letting them in.

"Hey Mark, are Mimi or Roger here?"

"Um, yeah, but they're asleep. Mimi'll be up in about an hour though, if you wanna wait?" The filmmaker suggested.

"Is that ok?"

"Of course. You guys want anything to eat?"

"It's alright, we don't wanna be a burden." The eleven-year old said, trying to be polite, but at the same time trying to quiet her grumbling stomach.

Mark smiled at the children, and got out two plates. "Sit down, I'll make you guys some eggs." He offered, since it was the only breakfast food in the loft.

"Thank you." Shelby said, sitting Nolan and herself in chairs.

As Mark cooked the eggs, Shelby took a more in-depth view of the loft. It looked like their's, only instead of having at least two doors, they closed off other rooms with cloth that served as curtains. Everything was cluttered, but in a 'disorganized genius' sort of way, Shelby thought. Her eyes scanned the loft, landing on possibly the most interesting thing in the loft at the moment- Mark. He was wearing a plaid shirt with a sweater-vest over it, with slightly worn brown pants. Probably his work clothes, Shelby thought. His black-rimmed glasses framed his face perfectly, which looked freshly shaven; and of course there was that hair- that platinum blonde, perfectly sculpted hair. Hair that went perfectly with his blue eyes to give the all-American boy look. He's actually really cute, Shelby thought. I wonder how old he is…

"Sunny-side up, right?" Mark asked, holding the frying pan above her plate.

"What? Oh, yes, please."

Mark slid the egg onto her plate and went back to making Nolan's eggs.

"Hey Mark?"

"Hm?"

"How old are you?"

"25, why?"

"Just wondering," she said chewing on a bite of egg. Sophie was 23, only two years separated them…maybe…

"So, Mark. What do you think of Sophie?" Shelby pried.

"She's nice."

How conveniently vague, thought the eleven-year old. I'll just have to make it plain for him…

"Nice as in, 'my grandma's nice', or nice as in, 'oh my goodness she's awesome' nice."

Mark's head craned around to catch the smirk on Shelby's face as she phrased the question.

"Probably a mix of the two…why?" He pivoted, facing her.

"No reason." She put on an innocent face and smiled angelically.

"Ri-gh-t." Mark stretched the word out into three syllables.

Silence settled upon the room, comfortable to the children who were used to silence by now with all the sadness that had so kindly placed itself upon them, but uncomfortable to the adult who was used to always hearing the hustle and bustle of the city streets, or the twang of a guitar. He quickly finished scrambling an egg, and slid it onto Nolan's plate, which the boy thanked him for and started trying to feed himself. Mark sat at an empty seat, looking out the window at the busy streets of New York.

"You excited about Middle School?" He asked, trying to make polite conversation.

"I guess, I mean school is school."

"But, it's a new city, new kids. Aren't you excited about making new friends? Having new classes?"

Shelby shrugged, a tinge of sadness shining through her seemingly vacant gaze.

"I guess."

"You miss North Carolina, don't you?" Mark asked softly.

Shelby nodded, tears glistening in her now grey eyes. "But I miss my family more…my brothers, and my other sister; my other niece and nephew." Her voice filled with sorrow, and for that one moment, her guard was down. "But, I have to get used to this new city. I have to make new friends and forget my family, remembering will only make me sad." The wall was back up. The scared, little girl that had shown her face, disappeared back into her hiding place.

"It's not as bad as you think, ya know. There's Central Park, and Thompkins Square Park, well…there are a lot of parks. And there's the Statue of Liberty, not to mention Times Square- and on New Years! Man, that place is the place to be!"

Shelby smiled, even though it was out of mere politeness, Mark felt relief to see her smile.

The sound of a curtain ruffling came from behind, and Shelby turned around to see Mimi stretching and heading towards the table wearing one of Roger's old band T-shirts and boxers.

"Hey Mimi!" Shelby greeted.

"Hey Shelby, you're here early." Mimi yawned.

"Yeah, Sophie had to be at work at 8. So, Nolan and I came down here and Mark offered us breakfast. Thank you, by the way."

"No prob kids. Well, I better get off to work too. See you guys later!" Mark waved, grabbed his messenger bag and headed out.

Mimi grabbed the half-eaten box of Cap'n Crunch and sat beside Shelby, popping some of the cereal in her mouth.

"So, what do you two wanna do today?" The dancer asked.

"Mawk said there a pawk!" Nolan said excitedly.

Mimi laughed. "Well, he's right Nolan." She said seriously. "You wouldn't want to go there would you?" She asked in mock surprise.

Nolan smiled his innocent smile and nodded.

"Alright then, we'll go to the park." She said ruffling the boy's hair, earning her a smirk.

All through Sophie's day her thoughts drifted back to her son and sister. Were they ok? What if they were hungry? She was going to buy some groceries after work and fix them their first dinner in their home tonight, but until then what would they do? What if they were too cold or too warm? What if Nolan got sick? More than a few times she picked up the phone to call the loft to see if Mimi or Roger could check on them, but she always laid the receiver back down trying to calm her nerves with the thought that she would be going home soon. Her new job wasn't proving to be difficult at all, of course school hadn't started yet. Still, she was happy to be making enough money for her family to live on, and felt a sense of pride in her work. Nevertheless, when 4:30 came around she bolted out the door and to the market around the corner. She bought mostly mac and cheese since it was cheap, along with some Ramen noodles and soup for variety. She walked the four blocks home with the bags and could only smile when she reached the loft. She managed to get her key out and struggled up to her apartment to find it empty. She hid the food behind the counter and went down to the boho's place.

Knocking lightly on the door, she heard nothing at first. So she knocked a little louder. A few moments later, Mark opened the door.

"Oh! Hey Sophie!" He said with a warm smile.

"Hey Mark, are Shelby and Nolan down here?" She asked, trying to peer around his shoulder to get a glimpse of the loft.

"Oh, no, they went out with Mimi for the day." He went to the kitchen and Sophie stepped inside. Mark came back with a note.

Rog, Mark, Soph-

Went out with Nolan and Shelby- going to park and then I'll probably treat them to ice cream. Be back for dinner!

-Mimi

"Oh." Sophie said not masking her slight disappointment.

"They'll be back soon."

"I know, I just missed them today. I was lookin forward to seeing them." Sophie said.

"Yeah, they're great kids."

"Yeah, they are." She smiled at the thought of her growing in independence son and sister who was turning into a young lady. "Well, I guess I'll go up and fix dinner." She said heading for the door.

"Okay, I'll send them up when they get home." Mark walked her.

"Oh, I'm so rude! Mark, do you and Roger and Mimi want to join us for dinner? It's only mac and cheese, but it's something." She offered.

"Yeah, sure. Hey, you want some help?" He asked.

"Um, I guess."

"I'll leave a note for Meems and the kids." He grabbed a scrap of paper and scribbled down where they would be.

"Okay, that would be nice." Sophie said at the idea of company.

"That was sooo fun!" Nolan said as skipped down the sidewalk with his aunt and Mimi.

"I'm glad you guys had fun." Mimi remarked.

"I didn't think a park would be any fun, but just chilling with you was pretty cool." The eleven year old said.

"And the ice cweam was good too!" The toddler smiled.

"Well, we'll just have to do that again some day huh?"

"Could we?" Nolan asked incredulous.

"If you want, I mean if you don't want to we wouldn't-" Mimi joked.

"Please?" Nolan asked, his big green eyes shining with the idea of something to look forward to.

"Of course we'll do it again Noel." She smiled down at the boy. Nolan slipped his hand into Mimi's as they crossed the street and kept it there until they reached the loft.

"Hey, Sophie's back guys!" She said reading Mark's note.

"Really?" Shelby and Nolan said in unison.

"Yeah, she's upstairs making everyone dinner."

"Everyone?"

"Yeah, apparently Mark, Roger and I are going to join you guys."

"Yes!" Shelby whispered.

"You guys go on up, I'll get Roger up."

"Okay." Shelby said racing Nolan up the stairs.

"So, plates and silverware are in that cabinet", Sophie pointed out to Mark as she started the water boiling for the mac and cheese.

Mark got all the silverware and plates together and set them on two card tables pushed together just in time to hear two children clamoring up the stairs.

"I think someone's home." Mark smiled turning his head to the door. Sophie rushed to the door, completely forgetting the boiling water on the stove. Mark on the other hand, did not forget and took her place at the stove.

Nolan and Shelby burst into the loft, huge smiles plastered on their faces.

Sophie gathered both of them in her arms, after a whole day of worrying- she could finally make sure they were okay. She pulled back and made sure they were in fact, okay. She checked for any scratches or cuts, but all she noticed was a small chocolate stain on Nolan's cheek and a genuine smile on Shelby's face. She picked up her son in one arm and wrapped the other around her sister's shoulders.

"How did yall do today?" Her southern accent poked through.

"It was so great Mommy! Mimi took us to the pawk and then she took us to ice cweam!"

"Oh she did? Ice cream? What'd you guys get?"

"I got an ice cweam sammich and Selby got a cone." Nolan informed his mother.

"Strawberry." Shelby commented.

"Well, I'm so glad you guys had fun. I missed you guys though, but we're gonna have some dinner with Mimi and Mark and Roger, so why don't you two go wash up?"

"Okay mommy." The two started to run to the bathroom, but Nolan turned back.

"What is it buddy?"

He ran and hugged Sophie's legs since they were the only thing he could reach. "I missed you too mommy." He said softly.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Wow, that's gotta be the best meal I've eaten that wasn't out of a take-out box since…well, ever." Roger said leaning back in his chair.

"It was just mac and cheese, but thank you Roger." Sophie said, getting up to clear the dishes.

"Oh, let us do the dishes Soph! It's the least we could do after you cooked it!" Mimi ushered, kicking Roger's chair trying to get him to help.

"Ow! What?" He asked.

Mimi simply sighed and rolled her eyes. She gathered the dishes and utensils and started running the water for washing them.

Mark got up to help her, kicking Roger's chair as she had before.

"My god- fine, I'll help! Ok?" He said joining them at the sink.

"You guys still hungry?" Sophie asked the little ones.

"I'm good Soph." Shelby said.

"I'll fulled up!" Nolan said grinning.

"Oh you are?" Sophie asked, her hands wrapping around him. "Well, I guess it's time for your bath then, right little man?"

"Aw mommy, do I hafta?" The boy whined.

"Well, if you don't get in the bath I guess the tickle monster will just have to tickle you to death!" Sophie started tickling her son's sides, Nolan squealing in laughter.

Mark watched from the kitchen, it seemed the sink was only big enough for one person to stand in front of it, so Mimi washed while Roger dried and Mark put away. But while he was waiting for the next dish, he caught Sophie tickle her son into taking his bath and how happy she was to see her son smile. He could not explain how happy her smile made him though. Her perfect, flawless smile; and the way her hair fell in her face when her head leaned forward. Her soft brown hair framing her face perfectly, the contrast of the brown against her porcelain skin making her skin seem to glow.

Nolan ran out the room and, Mark assumed, into the bathroom.

"Hey guys, we can finish up." Sophie said, joining the three boho's in the kitchen.

"Oh, ok. Well thank you for dinner again!" Mimi said drying her hands off on a dish towel.

"No problem, we should do this again, I think the kids really like you guys."

"We're kinda fond of them too" Mark said, a smile creeping upon his lips. The three shuffled out the door, waving goodbye to Shelby and Sophie.

"So, Mark's nice." Shelby said, bringing Nolan's plate to the sink.

"Yes, he is." Sophie said oblivious. "Well, if you could wash that plate and whatever is in the sink, that'd be so great hon." Sophie kissed the top of her sister's head and went to bathe her son.

Shelby sighed at her sister's obliviousness. Why couldn't she realize that Mark liked her? It wasn't that hard- after all; she- an eleven-year old- had seen it. Shelby heard her nephew giggling and splashing around in the water and a smile forced its way onto her lips. Sophie would realize it in time, and in time she and Mark would date, Shelby was sure of it.

"So, that was a fun night." Mimi remarked, hanging up her coat.

"Oh my god, what have we become?" Roger said running a hand through his short, bleached hair.

"Hm?" Mimi asked, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head in the crook of his right arm.

"We used to call a 'fun' night getting drunk off Stoli or going out an partying til like 3 in the morning. Now we're calling 'fun' hanging with a three-year old, his mother and her sister eating mac and cheese?!" He said holding Mimi.

"Didn't you have fun babe?" She looked up at him.

"Of course I did." He kissed her forehead. "All I'm saying is…we're different…"

"Well yeah Rog, people change." Mark said softly. "Sometimes for the better." He said hanging up his scarf next to Mimi's coat.

"But when did it happen? Like, two nights ago?" The confused rocker babbled on.

Mark laughed and Mimi stifled a laugh. "It doesn't happen like that Rog." The filmmaker explained. "It's like, over the course of the past few months I guess we kinda grew up." Mark shrugged.

"But you did have fun…with the kids?" Mimi asked pulling away from his grasp and looking into his bright green eyes.

"Yeah, of course. I love those kids. Why?"

"No reason…it's just…I really like the kids too."

"Of course you do, they're great kids." Roger said pulling Mimi back to his chest.

A saddened expression crossed Mimi's face. Sometimes Roger's obliviousness was adorable, other times it was just hilarious, but once in a while it killed her that he didn't catch on to what she hinted at. Mark, however, was not as blind.

"What about you Rog? You ever think about having kids?" He said starting a pot of coffee.

The rocker blinked a few times before bursting out in laughter. Mimi backed away, hurt by his outburst.

"Whoo, Mark, that was funny dude."

"Wasn't kidding Rog." Mark said with Mimi at his side.

"Um, I'm HIV positive, remember? You're the one always reminding me to take my AZT."

"But that doesn't necessarily mean your kids will have it, there are medications for prevention and all that." Mimi interjected.

Whatever expression Roger had immediately dropped. "Um…okay. What does that have to do with us?" He pointed at himself and Mimi.

Mimi came up to her boyfriend and took his hands in hers. "Whenever I look at Nolan, I can't help but think about how cute a kid would look with your eyes and your hair. Nolan's blonde hair and green eyes remind me of you so much, and I love him and Shelby so much and well…I can't help but wonder what it would be like if we had one of our own."

"One of our own? Like a baby?"

"No Rog, a puppy. Yes a baby!"

"Y-you want a, a baby?" He said, the ghost of a smile peeking through his eyes.

"I want a baby." Mimi said resolutely.

"You want a baby." A smile manifested itself on his lips. "I want a baby."

Mimi squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing. Roger picked her up and swung her around, for the moment blissfully unaware of all they would have to face to make this dream come true.

"We're gonna have a baby!" Roger said.

Mark smiled, thinking of Roger having to deal with a mini-me. The thought of drinking gasoline may appear very tempting, Mark thought as he imagined Roger babysitting.

"I can't wait to tell Sophie!" Mimi said holding Roger's face in her hands.

"I can't wait to start trying!" A dirty grin appeared on his face.

"Ah no!" Mark groaned in disgust. "Please go to her place at least!" He begged.

Roger led Mimi out the door, both having huge grins plastered on their faces.

"Looks like it's back to the ear-plugs", Mark said remembering back to when Mimi had had her miraculous recovery.

"Shelby- I'm taking Nolan downstairs but when I get back you better be ready young lady!" Sophie hollered to her sister who was getting ready for her first day of middle school. She hoisted her son onto her hip and grabbed his bag and started downstairs to the bohos.

"Selby go?" Nolan asked as he turned his head to watch the door close.

"Yep, to school."

"Why I no go?"

"You're too little baby, next year you will though." Sophie's eyes lit up with excitement in hope that it would catch on. Nolan seemed satisfied with the answer, and Sophie knocked on the loft door, cringing as the loud noise echoed through the halls.

"Hey Soph, hey Noel." Mimi said taking Nolan from his mother's arms.

"Hi Mimi!" Nolan said.

"Well, don't you look handsome today", Mimi cooed.

"What hamsome?"

"It means you look very nice." Sophie answered, handing Mimi his bag.

"Oh. Tank you."

"Okay sweetheart, I'm going now, but Mimi has my number and if anything happens she'll call me. I'll be home with Shel in a few hours, ok honey? It'll go by like that." She snapped.

"Okay mommy." The three-year old said contently; obviously Sophie was making a much bigger deal out of this then Nolan.

"I love you Nolan." She kissed her son's head and brushed some stray hair out of his face. "When I get back we'll get you a haircut bud."

"Love you mommy." Nolan waved as his mother retreated back up the stairs.

"Shelby Renee Ric-"

"Geez sis, I'm right here." Shelby said coming out of the bathroom, her brown hair straight and shining beautifully.

"You look beautiful Shelbs." Sophie said running a hand through the chestnut colored hair. She looked wistfully out the window at the New York streets, and thinking of what a big contrast it was in to where she grew up. Then she thought back to her own first day of middle school. Shiloh was two grades above her, so they rode the bus together and she knew that he would always look out for her. She wasn't scared at all. Her parents saw her off onto the bus, her mom made her a special lunch and her dad gave her money to buy a lunch if the lunch turned out to be too 'uncool'…which it had. But her mother's intentions were good.

"Soph?" Shelby looked up, blue eyes full of tears that the eleven-year old willed not to fall. "What did Mom and Dad say to you your first day of middle school?"

Sophie smiled and wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders.

"Well, first they walked me and Shi out to the bus, and while we were waiting, Mom gave me a lunch she packed for me that she said was 'extra-special', and then Dad slipped me some money so I could buy lunch if bringing a lunch was 'uncool'. Then Mom teared up, and Dad just smiled as I got on the bus."

"I wish they were here. I wish they could have seen me now." Shelby said.

"Well, just so you know, I packed you the same lunch Mom packed for me on my first day, and I also snuck a few bucks into your front pocket", she pointed to the pocket in the book-bag, "in case you wanna buy a lunch. Now, c'mon, let's get going." The two sisters started out of the building hand in hand.

After a minute, Shelby asked, "when can we go back to Lenoir?"

"Don't you like it here?" Sophie said, looking for a break in traffic.

"Of course I do, but I still miss Sonya and Shiloh and Sasha. I just wanna visit them, don't you?"

"Of course I do sweetheart, but it's just not that easy. I mean, I have work and you have school."

"Okay." She pouted.

"But we're going down for Thanksgiving, and before that even."

"Before Thanksgiving? When?!" Shelby asked excitedly.

"Oh, sometime." Sophie smiled.

"Tell me please? Please?"

"No way, it's gonna be a surprise."

"Well…can't ya tell me now, and then I promise I'll act surprised when it happens?"

"Um, no. I guess you'll just have to wait."

"I hate waiting."

Sophie smiled to herself, loving that Shelby was now looking forward to something.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: So...college is crazy. If you guys think high school is insane, just wait. But, despite the insanity that has been my life recently: I have an update. Ok, so considering how long it's been it's not actually that big of an accomplishment but just let me think it. So I hope yall enjoy, and review please! For Nolan? -insert pic of Nolan pouting- Can you really resist the cuteness?

* * *

Chapter 9

As Shelby and Sophie went off to work, Mimi popped in a tape of Sesame Street she borrowed from a girl at work who had kids. Nolan sat in front of the screen, glued to the characters, listening intently to what they were saying. Mimi slipped into her and Roger's room and quietly got some things out of the second drawer, humming lowly to herself. Roger hearing her, moaned.

"What is there to be happy about before the sun rises?" He grumbled, his pillow positioned above his head; a sorry attempt at blocking out noise.

"Well," she said wielding her tools.

"Whoa! No! Mimi, think about this!" The rocker shot out his bed and against the nearest wall.

"Roger, calm do-"

"It's so beautiful," Roger sniffled, bringing a hand to his head. "Why would anyone want to do such a thing?" Tears sprung to his eyes.

Mimi rolled her eyes and laid down her tools. "Calm down rock star, I'm not gonna do anything to you."

"You…you're not?" Roger looked to her, hope in his eyes.

"No, I'm cutting Nolan's hair." She took her scissors and other haircutting tools into the kitchen/living room.

Roger, now relieved from his hair-cutting scare wandered out into the room, snatching the Cap'n Crunch and plopping next to Nolan on the rug.

"S'up little man?"

"Nothin…what dat?" The toddler asked as Roger popped more cereal in his mouth.

"Cap'n Crunch, ya wanna try some?" He offered a few pieces to the boy.

Nolan carefully took the cereal and examined it.

"You eat it." Roger said.

"I know." Nolan responded. He slowly placed the sugar-filled snack on his lips and tasted the new food. "Sweet." He said, eating a few more pieces.

"You like it?"

Nolan nodded his head affirmatively.

Roger smirked at Nolan, and ruffled his hair affectionately.

Mimi brought over one of the two chairs in the loft, placed a thick phonebook in the seat and lifted Nolan up onto it. Nolan's eyes stayed trained on the small television as the cookie monster sang his song. Mimi smiled as Nolan hummed along with the song and draped a small, vinyl tablecloth around his neck, snapping it in the back; like the sheets real hair-dressers used.

Nolan finished his pieces of cereal and looked at his empty hand, then to Roger. He cupped his hands and held them out.

"You want more?" Roger asked seeing the little hands outstretched at him.

"Pwease?"

"Sure dude." Roger smirked and poured more of the sweet treat into the boy's hands.

The toddler started to bop his head to the music on Sesame Street, and Roger laughed at Mimi's frustrated expression. She had forgotten what it was like cutting children's hair. She only cut Mark's, Maureen's and Collins' even though his wasn't really a cut it was more a shave. But back in Mexico she cut all of her sibling's hair, ranging from ages nine to two. She herself started when she was eleven. That was when her older sister ran away. Mimi was the same age when she ran away…

Mimi placed her hands gently on Nolan's shoulders and crouched down a bit.

"Hey buddy, do you think you could be real still for like, five minutes?"

Nolan nodded his head solemnly. "Why?"

"Well, I'm gonna cut your hair and make your mommy surprised! Okay?"

The small boy cracked a smile and nodded enthusiastically before becoming a statue.

So Nolan munched his snack as Mimi cut his hair. She didn't know how Sophie wanted it done, so she only trimmed it enough to see his eyes. Doing a once-over, she smiled obviously proud of her work. She unsnapped the drape and brushed stray hair off of Nolan's neck.

"All done tiger!" She said ruffling his shorter hair.

"Tank you." He said flashing a toothy grin up at her.

* * *

"How was your day?" Sophie asked her sister as she picked her up from her school. Sophie had gotten off early to make sure her sister had an alright first day. Being the new kid starting middle school couldn't be easy.

"Fine…" The girl kicked a pebble on the street.

"What's that mean?" Sophie asked, her voice chipper.

"It means I'm the new kid at school. I don't have any friends…"

Sophie wrapped one arm around the girl's shoulders. "Shels…"

"Soph…" Her voice cracked, eyes still admiring the sidewalk.

Sophie ran a hand through the chestnut brown hair. "You know what always made me feel better?"

Shelby looked up, tears in her eyes.

"Cookie dough ice cream and a Brad Pitt movie."

"Which movie?" She croaked.

"Any movie! It's Brad Pitt!"

"I guess that'd be alright…do we have enough money?"

"I got paid today hon." Sophie pulled out her key to the apartment complex and unlocked the door.

"You did? That's great Soph."

"Yep, so I'm going to go get some groceries tonight, I'll add cookie dough ice cream to the list."

"Thanks Sophie." Shelby hugged her sister sideways as they reached Mark, Roger and Mimi's floor.

Sophie knocked and opened the door slowly.

"Anyone home?" She asked rhetorically.

"Mommy!" A whirl of blonde hair attached itself to her leg.

"Hey little man, have fun with Mimi?" She lifted her son onto her left hip. She lifted a hand subconsciously to swipe away hair to see her son's eyes but was surprised to see not hair, but round green eyes. "Hey, wait, your hair is shorter."

"Oh yeah", Mimi said greeting the family at the door. "I cut it. I used to cut all my siblings hair in Mexico, so I had all the stuff and you said he needed one…I can cut it shorter if you want."

"Oh! No, it's perfect Mimi! Thank you, I don't know how to repay you."

"Then don't", the dancer laughed. "We're friends, this is just what friends do."

"Thank you. Noel, did you thank Mimi for cutting your hair?"

Nolan nodded his head affirmatively.

"Wanna thank her again before we go upstairs?" Shelby grabbed the boy's bag from a near by chair as her sister gave her goodbyes.

"Tank you vewy much Mimi." The tyke grinned.

"It was my pleasure." Mimi said smiling.

"Thank you for watching him again! You're truly a life-saver. I barely have enough for rent let alone baby-sitting."

"Wait- rent?" Mimi asked, confusion gracing her features.

"Yeah, you know the stuff you pay at the beginning of each month to live here?" Sophie asked, a smile playing on her lips.

"Oh yeah, I know what it is…I just don't know why you would pay it." Mimi said quietly, shrugging.

"What?" Sophie shifted Nolan onto her right hip.

"We kind of know the landlord…closely. The water is never turned off, and even if the heat is on it doesn't help much. No use in paying for something that you don't need."

"But what about electricity?"

"Sometimes it goes off, but that's what the huge windows and candles are for. Benny tried to kick us out a few times last year, but obviously", she motioned to the furniture and stuff surrounding the group, "that didn't work." She smirked almost proudly.

"So…you don't pay any rent?"

Mimi nodded her head, a glint of a smile in her sultry eyes.

"Oh. Well…that changes everything." Sophie whispered, grey eyes ignited with a spark of hope.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

3 months later…

"Shelby, let's get going!" Sophie hollered to her sister who was still primping in the bathroom.

Over the past few months, furniture had slowly found its way into the apartment. Starting with a used, but still nice couch that Mark and Roger had found on the side of Park Avenue. After figuring out that she didn't have to pay rent, Sophie saved and bought mattresses and bed frames for Nolan and Shelby and bought more blankets and pillows. She slept on the couch; which was a big upgrade from where she was previously. She had bought a small table at a thrift store and found the cheapest chairs there, which were mismatched to say the least. Mark had "found" a TV around his work and gave it to the family, which Sophie accepted graciously.

Over one weekend, true to her word, Sophie took Shelby and Nolan down to North Carolina to visit Sonya and the rest of the family. They didn't get to stay long at all, but Sophie figured it would hold Shelby over until Thanksgiving; which had now arrived.

"How do I look Soph?" Shelby asked, biting her lower lip. Over the past few months Shelby had made a few friends and like all tweens, had a crush.

"You look beautiful Shelby Renee", Sophie gently kissed the top of Shelby's head.

Shelby smiled, straightened out her shirt and the two gathered their things.

"Nolan!"

A blonde head peered around a corner, and trudged over to follow his mother downstairs.

"So guys, Thanksgiving is coming up." Sophie said, taking Nolan's hand.

"Are we gonna celebrate with Mimi, Mark and Roger?" Shelby asked disinterested; obviously forgetting her sister's earlier promise of going to North Carolina for the holiday.

"Actually…I was thinkin' we could celebrate with Sonya, Sasha and Shiloh." Sophie said, a smile finding its way onto her lips.

"What? Seriously?!" Shelby dropped her book-bag and threw her arms around her sister's neck.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" She squealed.

"You're welcome." Sophie knocked on the door they had arrived at and entered slowly. "Morning!" She greeted.

The group was greeted with the sound of a toilet flushing, and Mimi wobbling out not looking her best.

"Hey guys." She stumbled over to the couch.

"Mimi, you look…" Sophie stumbled over what to say.

"Like shit?" The dancer offered, as Sophie covered her son's ears from the word, not wanting a dirty word to become his new fascination.

"Well…kind of." Sophie offered a sad smile.

"I feel horrible." Mimi groaned.

Sophie let go of her son's hand and felt Mimi's forehead. "Well, your temperature's normal. Would you like me to stay and take care of you?"

"No, no", Mimi waved her hands, insisting she was fine. "I'll be-" Her eyes widened and she rushed to the bathroom, hand to her mouth.

Sophie cringed as she heard Mimi emptying her stomach into the porcelain god. Then, a thought occurred, and a smile crept across her face. She went to the door of Roger's bedroom and knocked slightly, not waiting for a response before peeking her head in.

"Roger?"

"Mmph." He groaned as he turned over.

"Get up rock-star." She turned on the light.

"Mmph!" He put a pillow over his head.

Sophie smiled and ripped the comforter off of the bed, revealing Roger's dinosaur pajama pants and an old Zeppelin t-shirt on his body.

"Hey!" He finally sat up.

Sophie covered her smile with her hand. "One question Roger…if Nolan has some mutant growth spurt, could he use these?" She tugged on a pant leg.

Roger's cheeks reddened, and he crossed his arms. "No, they're mine…what do you want anyway?"

"Mimi's sick." Sophie stated matter-of-factly.

"I know, she was up half the night." Roger shrugged.

"And you didn't do anything?!" Sophie asked incredulously.

"What should I have done?" The oblivious rocker asked.

"Make sure she didn't faint? Roger you both have HIV!"

"Don't you think I know that? She told me it was nothing, that she probably ate something bad." Roger stood up.

"Roger…it's not that." She said quietly.

"Then what is it?"

"Can you watch Nolan for a few minutes? I'm going to take Shelby to school, then I'll come back here."

"You're missing work cause Mimi's sick?"

"That's what friends do. Nolan's in the living room, I'll be back in a few minutes." Sophie took one last look at Roger's pants and left giggling.

"Is Mimi gonna be okay?" Shelby asked her sister as they sped-walk to Shelby's school.

"Yeah honey, she's gonna be fine." The school was now in sight, and Sophie stopped. "Have a good day, and come to Mimi's after school, I'm going to stay with her and Nolan today."

Shelby nodded understandingly.

"Love you kiddo." Sophie kissed her sister on the cheek.

Shelby smiled and replied, "you too sis."

Half an hour later Sophie showed back up at the loft, plastic bag in hand. She found the boys on the floor watching Sesame Street, Nolan in Roger's lap looking quite comfortable, eating Cap'n Crunch. Sophie beamed at how sweet they looked. How much Nolan loved hanging out with other guys, seeing as he didn't get that a lot.

"Hi Mommy!" Nolan waved with his free hand, his other full of the sweet cereal.

"Hey sweetie. Is Mimi in the bathroom?"

Nolan nodded.

"I'll be right back guys." Sophie smiled and knocked quietly on the door of the bathroom, letting herself in.

"Hey Sophie, you should be at work." Mimi said slumped over the toilet.

"Yeah, well, I think you might want someone here with you…I think I know what's wrong with you Meems. You're throwing up and just generally feel like crap?"

"Yeah, but I'm also hungry…for cheetos and mayonnaise."

Sophie crinkled her nose, but brought out what she had purchased at the drug store. "I think you might be pregnant." She said, a grin spreading across her face.

"No! Already?" Mimi immediately brightened a bit.

"'Already'?" Sophie laughed. "It's been three months!"

"I know", Mimi murmured. "Okay, let's do this!" Mimi shakily rose.

5 minutes later…

"Jesus Christ! How long does it take?" Mimi paced as best she could in the tiny bathroom.

"In 20 seconds, we'll know." Sophie smiled with patience, knowing how anxious Mimi was.

"Ugh…what if I'm not Sophie? I mean…maybe I'm not the right person to have a kid. I mean, what if the kid has HIV? I just don't think I could live with passing on this disease to an innocent little-" Mimi set herself up for disappointment.

While Mimi ranted, Sophie picked up the test and looked at the response they had been waiting for.

"-baby, and then what if I'm a horrible mother? Roger would be a perfect father. But what about me? Do you think I can do it Soph?" Mimi turned to her friend.

"I think we're gonna find out." Sophie grinned. "You're pregnant."

"W-What?" Mimi stuttered.

"It's positive." She held out the test and Mimi gently took it, seeing that it was, in fact, positive.

"Wow…" Mimi sat down on the edge of the bathtub, dazed but happy.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Sophie took a seat next to her.

"I have a little person growing inside me…a little baby, half of me and half of Roger…"

"That's gonna be one gorgeous kid!" Sophie rubbed Mimi's back soothingly.

Mimi smiled half-heartedly. "I need to get more meds." She snapped into preparation mode.

"You're already on one of the best regiments possible." Sophie reasoned.

"I want to be on the best. This baby doesn't deserve HIV; this baby deserves the best I can give it. Do you want to go with me to the clinic?" Mimi started throwing away the test materials.

"What, _today_?!" Sophie said incredulously.

"Yes_ today_!" Mimi said, as if it was obvious.

"Mimi", Sophie tugged on her arm. "Sit down. The meds can wait until tomorrow, we'll get you on the best meds, I promise. But today is your day to just, revel in the fact that you're going to be a mother!" Sophie placed her hand on Mimi's relatively flat stomach. "You have a little person in there, now relax and let him or her grow."

Mimi took a deep breath. "Okay, but tomorrow we go?"

"Definitely. Now, I think there's one other person who might wanna know about this new development", Sophie pointed to the living room.

Mimi pranced into the living room, the nausea subsiding.

"Hey babe", she kissed the top of Roger's head.

"You over your food poisoning?" He asked without looking up from Bert and Ernie.

"Nope." Mimi smirked.

"So…you have a cold?" He concluded.

"Nope."

"So, this was just a freak sickness?" He slid Nolan onto the floor and off of his lap and turned around to see Mimi.

"Roger, do you want a boy or a girl?" Mimi asked quietly.

"A boy or a gir- oh my god. You're…really?!" He now understood.

"Yeah, the test was positive!"

Roger stood up and took Mimi in his arms, spinning her around. As soon as her feet touched the ground again, she rushed to the bathroom; another wave of nausea hitting her. Roger flopped onto the couch, happily unaware of anything else going on around him.

"Wogew? Nolan peered up at his buddy. Roger however, didn't hear anything. So Nolan tugged on his sleeve. "Wogew?

Roger snapped out of his trance and looked down at the toddler. "Hey dude, guess what?"

Nolan climbed up next to Roger. "What?" He asked excitedly.

"In a few months, I'm gonna have a little baby."

Nolan pursed his lips, a look of confusion crossing his little face. He turned his eyes to Roger's stomach and poked it. "Baby?" He asked.

Roger chuckled. "Well, Mimi's actually having the baby…but well…never mind dude." Roger ruffled Nolan's hair affectionately, then placed him on his lap and continued watching Sesame Street; though his mind was entirely on different things.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Ro-ger!" Mimi yelled from her place in the kitchen.

With Thanksgiving two days away, and Mimi expecting, the soon-to-be parents were making a trip to see Roger's parents over the holiday.

"Wh-at?" He mimicked.

Mimi jutted her hip out, hormones in full force- causing freak mood swings.

"I love you honey", he reminded her.

"I know _darling_." She said through gritted teeth, trying to keep her emotions in check. "But if we don't get going pretty soon we're going to end up driving in the dark."

"Oh." Roger, while enjoying driving, didn't exactly enjoy driving in the dark. In fact, since he had hit a stray cat in the dark a year ago, he hadn't driven past 6 in the evening. "Alright, well, I'm done packing." He hoisted his duffel bag over his shoulder. "Are you?"

"Yep." She lugged out a king-size suitcase.

"That's it?" Roger quipped.

Mimi smirked. "Don't you wish." She then went into her room and came out with two more king size suitcases.

"Ugh…should've guessed."

"So, it's off to the in-laws then?" Mark said, flopping onto the couch.

"It seems that way." Mimi said. "What are you doin?"

"Staying around here I guess. Maybe I'll hit up Life Support or something, or watch the Charlie Brown special." He shrugged.

"Did you pack your school books?" Sophie asked her sister, who was just finishing packing.

"Ugh, no. Why would I do that?" Shelby groaned.

Sophie pursed her lips and firmly put her hands on her hips. "Because as I seem to remember, you have homework over the break."

"So-ophie! I can do it when I get back. When will I have time to do it down there anyway?"

"Um, when I make you sit down and do it?"

Shelby pouted and fake tears welled up in her blue eyes.

"Pack them!" She kissed the top of Shelby's head, smiling. "Watch Noel for a minute, I'm going down to say bye to Mimi, Roger and Mark." Sophie yelled as she headed out the door. As she approached the boho's loft however, she heard Mark's plans…or lack thereof over the holiday. No one should be alone on the holidays…she thought. She knocked and walked in, smile on her face.

"Hey guys!"

"Hey Soph! We were just about to leave." Mimi said cheerfully.

"Oh us to, but wait…Mark!"

"What?" He asked surprised.

"Why aren't you packed?"

"Because I'm not _going_ anywhere?" He said as more of a question than a statement.

"Oh now, Mimi did you forget to tell him?" Sophie wiggled her eyebrows at Mimi, as a way of saying 'go with me here'.

"Oh dammit, I did!" She feigned disappointment.

"Forget to tell me what?" Mark asked.

"Well, it was _supposed _to be a surprise, but I was going to invite you to come to North Carolina with me and the kids."

"What?"

"Yeah, see she wanted it to be a big surprise and have me tell you like, at the last second but silly me", Mimi put her palm to her forehead, "I forgot to tell you _altogether_!"

"Wait, why didn't let me in on this?" Roger inquired.

"Sophie, don't invite me to go with you just cause you feel sorry for me." Mark said sternly.

"I'm not!" She said smiling.

"We didn't tell this one," Mimi pointed to Roger, "because we knew he couldn't keep a secret."

"What? I can keep a secret!"

"Well, we didn't want to take any chances." Sophie further explained. "You don't have to come if you don't want to Mark, but my relatives will be _awfully_ disappointed. They were _so_ excited to meet you." She tugged at the hem of her shirt and bit her lip.

"Well, if you're sure I won't be a burden…"

"A burden? You?! Never! I want you to come, I'm _begging_ you to come!" Sophie grinned.

"Well…I need a minute to pack." He said, his cheeks turning a bright shade of pink.

"Oh I still need to pack up Nolan, so take your time!"

"Before we leave, could we say goodbye to the kids?" Mimi asked.

"Sure, come on up." Sophie led the way to the upper level.

"Thanks for going with me," she whispered when they closed the loft door.

"No problem, but why'd you do it?"

"No one should be alone for the holidays."

"You're right, I would have invited him but…this weekend is sorta special. Seeing Roger's parents, his brother, announcing our engagement-"

"What?!" Sophie froze, causing Roger to bump into her.

"Yeah, um…we're engaged!" Mimi said.

"Wait, where's your ring?" Sophie said, Mimi's left hand in hers.

"In the box."

"Why exactly…?"

"Well, he's going to _officially _ask me right after Thanksgiving dinner, in front of the whole family so they feel like they're a part of it."

"Your idea?" She asked knowingly.

"Yep."

Sophie shared a laugh with Mimi as she opened her door to reveal Shelby and Nolan sitting on the couch, suitcases beside them, TV on.

"I thought you said you still had to pack Nolan?" Mimi said, a sly smile appearing.

"Oh, did I?" She said, blush covering her cheeks.

"You're so nice to Mark." Mimi said as Roger went to sit with the kids.

"He's a nice guy." She said dreamily.

"He's especially nice to you." Mimi nudged Sophie in the ribs.

"No, he's just really sweet."

"He's sweet on you. Has he asked you out yet?" Mimi asked, eager for details.

"Well…"

"He's shy, give him time." The dancer assured her friend.

"He has." Sophie said wincing.

"He has what? Asked you out?" Mimi asked puzzled.

"Yeah…"

"When?"

"After that first night at the Life."

"Wow, usually takes him a while. Where did you guys go?"

"No where, I kind of turned him down. I just…I can't date right now. Not this soon." Sophie tugged at the hem of her shirt.

"Oh. I understand, I'm sure that with time you two will date. Right?"

"I can't see myself dating anyone else. Of course right now I can't see myself dating anyone at all."

"But in the future?"

"Definitely Mark." Sophie smiled, thinking of the blonde filmmaker.

Shelby, who had been listening intently though secretly, giggled quietly.

"Noel, Shel, say goodbye to Rog and Mimi." Sophie said turning off the TV.

"Bye dude." Roger ruffled Nolan's hair.

Nolan looked up at him with big, green eyes and smiled. Then he wrapped his little arms around Roger's neck. "Bye Wogew. I'll miss you." Nolan closed his eyes and squeezed Roger's neck with all his might.

Tears sprung to the rocker's eyes and he squeezed the toddler back. "I'll miss you too pal."

"Bye Mimi", Shelby gave her a quick hug.

After a few more goodbyes, the couple left for what was sure to be an interesting weekend.

Sophie turned to Shelby and Nolan and sat in between them on the couch.

"Hey guys, guess what!" She said wrapping one arm around each of them.

"What?" Nolan turned towards his mother, eyes wide.

"Mark is going to be coming with us on our trip!"

"Yay!" Nolan squealed.

"Why?" Shelby asked skeptically.

"Well, he was going to be here all alone for the holiday so I invited him along. But…let's just say we were going to invite him all along, okay?" Sophie pleaded.

"Okay." Shelby agreed. "Do you like him?"

"Of course, don't you?"

"So-phie! Not like him...do you like him, like him?" Shelby wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"I don't think that's any of your business little missy", Sophie said with a smile. She then turned the TV back on and headed back downstairs to check on Mark. She walked into the loft, not bothering to knock anymore.

"Mark?"

"Almost ready!" She heard the filmmaker yell from a room. Sure enough, a minute later Mark emerged with a suitcase and a smile.

"Alright, let's go get the kids then." Sophie smiled back, surprised at how happy she found herself knowing that Mark was coming.

As they drove, Shelby and Nolan quickly fell asleep, leaving Mark and Sophie to talk.

"So where are we going exactly?" Mark asked, making conversation.

"Lenior, North Carolina." Sophie said with a sigh.

"Sounds…", he searched for the right word, "quaint."

"I guess", she smirked. "It's just home to me. So are you originally from the city?"

"No, I was raised in a suburb, like most kids."

"And you hated it like most kids?"

"Well…not so much the suburb, more my parents."

"Oh, were they overbearing?"

"Yeah, typical Jewish parents."

"You're Jewish?!" She said startled.

"You're surprised?" Mark smiled.

"Well…yeah. You don't _look_ Jewish, or, I mean…wow. That sounded really bad!" Sophie babbled, cut off by Mark putting his hand over hers, signaling her to stop.

"Yeah, I got the recessive genes…all of them. My parents look pretty different, and so does my sister; and I don't practice or anything. But growing up I went to Temple, the Jewish Community Center, that kind of stuff."

"Why don't you practice anymore?"

"I never would have practiced in the first place if I had a say."

"Just don't believe it?"

"I guess." Mark shrugged.

"Well, what do you believe?" Sophie asked curiously.

"Um…", Mark thought about her question. Then, "I believe in love, and I believe in living each day like it's your last."

"That's really beautiful", Sophie said softly.

"What do you believe in?"

Sophie pursed her lips. After a moment she said, "I believe in love, and I believe in God, and I believe that people have the power to do whatever they want to if they only try."

Mark grinned. "That's beautiful too." Looking down, he saw that his hand still rested atop hers. Heat rose to his cheeks and he looked away. Sophie noticed this, however, instead of pulling her hand away she kept it there. It felt right there…


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Long story short...college life is crazy. A million apologies if anyone is still reading this. Love you all!

Chapter 12

Somehow between the time Mark first placed his hand on Sophie's, and the time they stopped to get dinner, their fingers intertwined, surprising both Mark and Sophie at how perfectly they fit together; and how sad they were as soon as the car was parked and they had to pull away.

"What do you want little man?" Sophie asked cheerfully as she hoisted her son onto her hip.

"Happy meal!" He responded.

"You got it pal!" She laughed.

Since they had moved to New York they had only been out to eat once, and that was their first night, so a trip to McDonalds was a real treat.

"What about you Shelbs?"

The 11 year old smirked and kicked a pebble on the ground. "Well…since I'm growing up I guess I shouldn't order a Happy Meal…"

"What? You're never too old for a Happy Meal kiddo. I might even get one myself", Sophie thought aloud.

"Well in that case, a Mighty Kids Meal wouldn't be too babyish."

"I want a Mighty Kid Meal too!" Nolan protested.

"I thought you wanted a Happy Meal?"

"Yeah, but I'm a mighty kid, so I want a Mighty Kid Meal."

"Alright buddy." She said letting him down as she reached for the door.

Mark however, was one step ahead of her and held it open for her.

"After you", he said holding the door open.

"Thank you sir." She said in her southern drawl.

"Thanks."

"Tank you Mawk."

"3 Mighty Kid Meals, two chicken nuggets, one hamburger, and…Mark what do you want?"

"Oh, um…whatever you're having." Mark said, not knowing anything on the menu at McDonalds.

"I'm having a kids meal." Sophie said, giving him a look that said 'you don't want what I'm having'.

"Then I'll have a kids meal." Mark assured her.

"Make that 4 Mighty Kid Meals, three chicken nuggets, one hamburger."

After everyone had their meal and drink and were seated, Sophie excused herself to the bathroom. In a stall, she pulled out her cell-phone and dialed her older sister.

"Sonya?" She said quietly.

"Sophie?" She mimicked.

"Sonya, I have a kind of request."

"Request away."

"Um…well actually it's more of a…more of a…" Sophie stuttered.

"Sophie, just tell me."

"Okay, so I was walking downstairs to say goodbye to Mimi and Roger you know, and I heard them talking when I got to the door and Mark was talking, saying he was gonna stay in New York alone for the holiday. So I couldn't just leave him alone on the holiday, so I made up this plan that I had intended to invite him all along. I said that you guys knew about it and were really excited to meet him, and-"

"Sophie! Take a breath, you know it's fine."

Sophie heaved a sigh of relief.

"So, this Mark…you like him?" Sonya said slowly.

"What? What does that have to do with anything?"

"I don't know, it's just…this is the first guy you've brought down here and…it's been almost a year Soph."

"It still hasn't even been a year! Ethan's been gone nine months…just nine months…but it seems like so much longer." A tear fell down her cheek.

"Sophie, it's time to move on. Ethan would want you to, you know that. Nolan needs a father figure in his life. You can't do this alone."

"I know."

"I know that you know, now _do_."

"Do what?"

"Does Mark know you like him?"

"I think so."

"Make sure. We'll take it from there when you get here. Now drive safe sis, see you in a few hours!"

"Thanks Sonya."

"Anytime little sis. Bye."

"Bye." Sophie wiped the tear from her face and put on a smile, then walked out.

"All done little man?" She asked sitting next to her son.

"Yes. When we see Sonya and Sasa?"

"In a few more hours honey."

Nolan pouted, obviously unhappy about the long trip.

"Well, if everyone's good let's head back out." Sophie suggested.

Mark threw away the trash and headed to the car with a twinkle in his eye.

"Mommmmy! Sit back with me!" The three-year-old whined.

"I can't baby, I have to drive."

"I could drive." Mark suggested.

Nolan started to whine, symptoms of an upcoming tantrum.

"Okay, okay," Sophie handed the key to Mark and took Shelby's place in the backseat. Nolan immediately curled up next to her, laying his head on her lap.

Soon enough though, both Nolan and Shelby were asleep again.

"I'm sorry Mark, he gets cranky on long car rides."

"It's fine, he's 3, he's supposed to." Mark looked at Sophie via the rear-view mirror, noticing how Nolan and her looked like a perfect picture, if only he had his camera.

"Tell me about him."

"Who? Nolan?"

"Yeah, and…your husband."

"Why?"

"I just want to know you better."

Sophie blushed, but then began. "Well, Nolan's three. He's the only man in my life right now, though I hope it won't always be that way. He's pretty well behaved for the most part, but when he's tired or grumpy things go from bad to worse in a second flat. He has a little whine that he starts right before a full-out tantrum, and that's why I agreed to sit back here with him, he did his whine. Um, he aims to please everyone, even people he might not seem to like though I don't know anybody he hasn't liked yet. Oh, here's something almost no one knows- he has a scar on his stomach from where he had his appendix removed last year."

"Last year? He was two, right?"

"Yeah, apparently he ate something bad…or something happened and he had to have it out. Poor kid looked like an orphan with a tapeworm after the operation. He was so thin. But he bucked up pretty quick from that."

Mark stole glances back while Sophie talked on and on about her son, noticing how she smiled when reminiscing on old stories, and how she stroked her son's hair lightly while he slept. Suddenly, she grew quiet.

"Ethan was…perfect. I don't know how to describe him. He was a contractor, he was good at what he did. He was a good man, honest and loyal. He went to church every Sunday, taught Sunday school for a little while too. He loved the beach, we would have moved down there too if I had agreed. He had blonde hair, green eyes, Nolan looks a lot like him. Actually, just like him. Caleb looked like me. God, Caleb…" she whispered. "No one should have to bury their own child. No one."

"How old was he?"

"Ethan was 24, and Caleb was 4. Just 4 years old. His coffin was so small. We didn't bury him in a suit you know, a four year old just doesn't look comfortable in a suit. He never was. So we buried him in his favorite jeans and Braves baseball shirt. He looked like himself then. He looked like my Caleb, he looked like my little boy."

"I'm really sorry."

"It's been nine months and I'm still in shock. I don't think anyone really gets over something like this though. For the first few months I would wake up in the middle of the night because I had the covers to myself. Then in the morning I would always go into Nolan's room expecting Caleb to be there beside him in the other bed. I even ordered him a Happy Meal once when we went out to McDonalds. Then cried when I realized that he wasn't there." Sophie wiped away a stray tear and sniffled. "But listen to me, hogging the spotlight. What about you? What's your family like?"

"Well, I have a mom and a dad, and a sister. Now a brother-in-law, and a nephew and niece."

"Aw, how old are they?"

"Isaac is two, and Sarah is one. My dad's a CPA, my mom stays home...and that's it."

"That can't be it."

"It is. I haven't talked to them in years."

"That's sad."

"They've been the best years of my life!"

"Oh. Well…okay."

"Don't get me wrong, I love them. But it was time to leave."

"Yeah, I get that."

Silence descended on the car, and Sophie thought back to what her sister said…Make sure.

"Mark?"

"Yeah?"

"You know that…you know that I like you right?"

"I know, I like you too." He said nonchalantly.

"No Mark, I mean…I _like_ you."

Mark raised one eyebrow. "You _like_ me?"

"Yeah."

"So the hand holding wasn't just a fluke?"

"I hope not." Sophie smiled at the blonde filmmaker shyly. Then, in a moment of boldness placed her hand on his shoulder.

Mark felt a warmth resonate through his body and he placed one hand over hers.

"Hey, pull over here." She said as soon as he had put his hand over hers.

"Why?"

"I think Nolan's fine now, I can drive again."

"Um no, you drove half the way now I'm driving."

"I see who likes to be in the driver's seat."

"Dirty!" Mark gasped.

Sophie rolled her eyes as Mark pulled into a rest stop.

As soon as they stopped, Shelby and Nolan both woke up and Sophie groaned.

"Aw we hewe?"

"We're just stopping for a bit baby. Get out and stretch." She ushered the toddler out. Nolan yawned and stretched, but then clung to his mother's legs.

"I'm gonna sit up front now, okay Nolan?"

"No. Back with me." He said adamantly.

"How about, I sit up front and you get some _chocolate_?"

The three-year old pursed his lips, thinking over the proposal. "Okay."

Sophie got some M&Ms from a vending machine and got a few out, putting the rest in her purse and out of sight. She gave the few to her son, and she got into the passenger seat, winking at Mark. As soon as they got onto the highway, Sophie slipped her hand under Mark's, intertwining their fingers.


End file.
